Ringa, Ringa
by Everlasting Blue
Summary: When you're living on the streets as a beggar and orphan, perhaps it's easier to sell your soul to the devil. AU; Multiple pairings, Sakura-centric
1. The Golden Age

_Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, the names would be even weirder, the characters more racially diverse, and the plot a bit more complicated. For example, Naruto would be a singing, guitar playing ninja. _

_Unfortunately, we can't all have our way, now, can we? _

_I also don't own the copyrights to the song that gave me the inspiration to write this story, 'Ringa, Ringa' by A.R Rahman from the movie _Slumdog Millionaire_. _

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

_Chapter 1: The Golden Age_

I've never known my parents. In fact, I didn't know much about myself at all. All that I knew was my name, Sakura, and that I was thirteen years old. But I was not alone; I was lucky enough to have Hinata.

Hinata and I have known each other since I could remember, or, at least, from what I _could _remember. She and I have been roaming the world hand in hand for years, learning to steal and deceive, to beg and to con. I don't remember how I know her or how long we've been together, but that doesn't matter right now. Hinata was the only one I trusted, and I was her only confidant as well. We called each other sisters, but we looked nothing alike. I had pinkhair (though, at times, my hair was a shade of light red) and had bright, green eyes while Hinata had violet eyes and black hair. I was a bit small and thin for my age, but Hinata was curvy and attractive. Our looks on the outside did not matter, though, as Hinata had told me many times before. We held many things in common. For example, both of us did not know who we were, nor where we came from or who our families were. And, above all, we had both only one goal in life: to survive.

_To live._

Life was cruel and unforgiving to the both of us, and many of my memories weren't pleasant. People who were also poor but had more than we often thought of us as worms and spat at us. Rarely was anyone kind. But, when I was around six, Hinata and I did encounter a man who was, in his own way, good: Hinata and I were living in another city, begging for money, and hiding underneath the shelter of boxes or small, wooden shacks at night or during the rain. She and I were approached by a man one, whose name I will never know, and were given two thick wads of cash, telling us to use it wisely. Being the naïve babies we were, Hinata and I had spent it all the next day on useless items that we soon lost. Constantly, we would look for the man to ask for more money, but we never found him. Another kind person was when I was ten. Hinata and I found ourselves roaming dirt roads. The pain of hunger and fatigue still lingered in me when I recalled the wall that went on for miles and miles. Hinata had asked me what it was that we saw, and upon closer inspection, I found that we were at the Great Wall of China. That day, some tourists took pity on us and gave us food and money. Weeks later, we were on a train that passed by another world wonder, the Taj Mahal. Hinata asked me who lived there. I told her that it was a museum, but it used to be occupied by Muslims. But those were the only kind people we've met so far, and I've no doubt that their hospitality will never be forgotten.

Currently, we lived in the country of Nadis, in the slums of a city called Thades. Our 'neighborhood' was overrun by gangs and the mentally unstable homeless men and women; drugs littered the streets and there was not a night that went by without the sounds of gunshots or someone being beaten to death. Prostitutes walked around, trying to seduce and to bribe. There was even black market here, but one would have to look very hard to find it. Obviously, this was the place that is always on the receiving end of charities, the place that outcasts and runaways go to when they have nothing.

_This is the place where children do not belong. _

Still, here we are, walking around, chewing on apples as we walked past the smelly old beggars and decaying road kill. The stench of the hot, dry summer air was a mix of the sewer and death and the ground was no doubt dirties with feces and urine. Hinata and I were lucky to have bought some cheap sandals, or who knows what could have happened to our already damaged feet? Apartment buildings and cheap stores lined the streets, cramped and suffocated, though after five or so buildings, there would be an alleyway for trash. These streets were almost never-ending (and they would go onto infinity if there were more people), and there was no beauty here. Not a single plant or tree. In the distance, there were tall, rundown buildings and skyscrapers from the industrial part of the city, a forbidden place for the likes of Hinata and me. The sun was setting behind those tall buildings, taunting everyone in this side of town as it deliberately sank down into the ends of the earth.

"Sakura! Look! Look at the sun! Isn't it gorgeous at this hour?" Hinata tugged at my shirt, pointing at that same spot. We stood in the middle of the road as we stared at the golden orange sun. I could not help but agree. People bumped into us as we stood in the middle of the road, telling us to move aside. Not wanting any trouble, we obeyed. "Do you still have those encyclopedias?" I looked at Hinata.

"The ones I found?" I asked, biting into my apple. Hinata nodded. "They're back home. I've finished reading them, so we could see them in the market." Hinata grabbed my hand and squeezed. "What is it, Hinata?"

"No! You can't do that. Sakura, I want you to be smart. I want you to learn as much as you can. Read them again, Sakura, and keep them." Hinata smiled at me. "We can just get a job if it's money you're worried about; after all, we are in our 'golden age'." Hinata winked as she bit into her apple. I rolled my eyes.

The 'golden age' was a term she had learned from a man—a gangster, obviously, from the image that I remembered of him—who had let us live in his apartment a few weeks ago, right before Hinata and I turned thirteen (we shared the same birthday because we didn't know the actual date of our births). He said that being thirteen was the age in which Hinata and I were 'ripe', and though Hinata didn't know what he meant, I could see from the greedy glint in his eye that he had something in mind. One could say I was paranoid, but I ran away from the man with Hinata, afraid for our lives. I did not like the feeling that came from him, nor did I like the friends he brought home and introduced to us. Every night while we lived in his apartment, I heard their conversations and plots. I knew that they've killed many people and that most of the crimes in this city were committed by his gang. Hinata asked me over and over again why I dragged her away from the only 'house' she's ever been in, but I knew that no matter what explanation I'd give her, she would never understand. Instead, I would tell her that it was better we ran away, as we would no longer be burdens to him.

"You think that anyone would want to hire us?" I licked my thumb and wiped away some dirt off her face.

"Of course! That's why we need to start looking. Maybe then, we can get an apartment as nice as Mr. Gold's." 'Mr. Gold'. That's what she called him. The man with the flaming red hair and the golden eyes and the piercings all over his face. Mr. Gold was Hinata's knight in shining armor, but he was my nightmare. Not a night went by that I would watch the entrance to our shack, expecting to see Mr. Gold's 'friends' waiting for us with guns. I knew it was paranoia, but being cautious is never wrong.

"Why do you honestly keep talking about that man?" I asked. "If he's such a saint, then why hasn't he come to get us, yet?" Hinata pouted.

"He will. He's just busy." _Oh, how stupid can you be, Hinata?_

"Hinata, you can't be so trustful of that man." I mumbled, though she did not seem to hear me, for she heard music from a guitar. Two old men, both beggars, sat on the side of the streets, one singing, and the other strumming on the strings of his instrument. The beat was fast and jolly, so Hinata took my hand and dragged me over to them to watch them. There was a bowl of coins and paper money next to the guitarist, which was emptier than it was full.

"_I run fast/On my feet/My heart races/My mind spins/They cannot touch me/I am lightning,"_ Hinata asks me if I have some money, but I reply that we are currently broke. I was tempted to steal the money these old men have earned, but I knew that they were probably needier than Hinata and I. Hinata frowns, but when the song ends, she claps loudly.

"Again! Again!" She demands.

"Very well—another song for two pretty ladies, then." The old men laughed with each other, as if there was some sort of inside joke between them. Hinata's eyes grew wide as the guitarist began to play again, though this time, it was a graceful song. The singer sang with a foreign tongue, his eyes closed as he held his hands out. Soon, the song grew fast and upbeat, and Hinata and I found ourselves clapping loudly, giggling as we took each other's hands and began to spin around and around. Before I knew it, Hinata began to dance and I followed suit.

When we had the chance, Hinata and I would look through the windows of one of the houses and watch a dance show that the owner of the house would always have on called 'Step by Step'. The show itself was a show that taught various dance moves, some more complicated than others, and some that were strange looking and gave me goose bumps to watch, as they required body language that I've seen whores use. Hinata and I would try to learn those dance steps, and we didn't have any reason to aside from wanting to have fun.

As we danced to the song, I closed my eyes as I moved, trying to remember the host of the show as she gave instructions of how to move gracefully and freely. I needed to relax and straighten my position, as well as make my feet light and my limbs flexible. Soon, I began to feel like I was in a dream—a good dream, and that money was flying all around me as I danced in circles, dressed in silk and decorated with golden jewelry. When I opened my eyes, my ears began to hear the sounds of people marveling at Hinata and I as we kept on dancing and their clapping with the beats of the song. Hinata was grinning brightly, her eyes twinkling. I let out a small laugh as someone threw a flower at me.

The song ended with cheers and coins and paper bills falling at our feet. Quickly, Hinata and I scrambled to get as much money as we could in between bows and thank yous, leaving half of the money for the old men as we scurried away with pocketfuls of money. _At least we did not have to steal, this time. _

"You know, I think we should be dancers," Hinata said that night as we sat around our makeshift table, eating cheap, greasy food. I had counted the money we earned today and found that we had made nearly one hundred rupees, which made me happy. This money, if spent wisely, could last us for a month!

"Why not?" I asked. "But where would we dance? Those women on TV are professionals."

"Well, we're learning from them, so doesn't that make us professionals, too?" I laughed at Hinata's answer. If only things were truly that simple.

"Sure. If you believe that."

"Maybe we could find those men again and have them play for us." Hinata said. I shook my head.

"They won't be there." I said.

"How do you know?" Hinata asked dreamily. "Are you a fortune teller? Can you see the future?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I just know that they won't."

The next day, we found out that I was right, to both of our horrors. Yes, the old men were no longer 'there' anymore… but neither were they anywhere else. In fact, we found them both, dead, in an alleyway, shot multiple times, lying in pools of their own blood. Hinata vomited the moment she saw them both. She looked away when I searched them grudgingly, whimpering when she would take a peek from behind her fingers. Their money was gone, and their shriveled bodies, which were being eaten away by flies, held no other valuables. There was, however, a guitar was neatly leaning against the wall next to the bodies, as if someone had placed it there.

"They were mugged." A woman said from behind us when we searched their bodies. I turned around and saw a beautiful, tall woman with a bottle in her hand, her brown eyes sharp. Her blonde hair was braided neatly, and there was a red dot on her forehead. "I heard it all last night. Another beggar wanted part of their money, and they refused. So he shot them both, six times each." The woman took a swig from her bottle, sighing and clicking her tongue. "Shame that it happens so frequently."

"Who are you?" I asked her. "What do you want?"

"I saw your performance yesterday," the woman said. "Were these men your partners?"

" 'Partners'?" I repeated questioningly.

"Did you work with them in any way?" I shook my head. "Then why were you dancing to their music?"

"Because their music was beautiful." Hinata replied. The woman let out a snort, taking one last drink before throwing the bottle to the side and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Cute girl. You both just might be the perfect addition to my group." The woman walked over to us, crouching before me. I could smell the alcohol on her breath. "You know, you both look like you need some money, since you're looting dead bodies."

"We weren't—

"And you know what else? I'd rather not have little kids like you two goin' around these streets, anyhow." The woman put on a smile. "Tell you what: do you girls need a job? Because I sure do need some help." My heart skipped a beat, though I wasn't sure why. Perhaps it was because this was such a grand opportunity. Immediately, my mind filled with thoughts of living in a house with lots and lots of food and a TV and maids serving us. Or, maybe it was because I had a bad that there was a catch. _There always is. _

"Who are you?"

"The name's Tsunade," The woman answered. "What do you say? Do you want a job?"

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

"Oh, you know. A little of this… some of that. Mostly dancing. Maybe you might run a few errands."

"And how much…"

"We'll think about it." Hinata interrupted softly. I looked at Hinata. Tsunade raised her brow, looking at Hinata with a hint of surprise. "Right, Sakura?"

I nodded stupidly.

"Okay, then. I want an answer by tomorrow. I'll be in front of the Jeweler's tomorrow, waiting for you. Be there when you're ready." Tsunade got up and cleared her throat. "There's big money waiting for you." Hinata and I looked at each other as the older woman walked away.

_Big money, huh? _


	2. Your Soul for the Ones You Love

_Disclaimer: Okay, so if I owned Naruto, I would HAVE to make Sasuke much nicer. If not, then I'd make sure that his life is even more miserable and that he was suicidal and… (Cencored)._

_A.R. Rahman wrote 'Ringa, Ringa', a song in the movie Slumdog Millionaire. GO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW. _

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … _... … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … ... … … … … _

_Chapter 2: Your soul for the ones you love_

Hinata told me that she had a bad feeling about this job Tsunade had offered us both that night as we sat around our makeshift table. We had taken some candles and lit them up, as the chilly autumn air began to bite our skins. I could hear people talking in the streets; a scream; a few shouts and some crying. _Gods, I hate this place. _"We shouldn't take it, Sakura." I nodded, though everything that she said seemed to melt away before I could process it in my head. After all, I knew what I had to do. _We have no money. We live in a shack—no, a wooden box. We have to steal and we have to beg… this isn't the life I want. This just can't be the life Hinata and I should live. _"Let's look for another job; a better one. I know that some artist posted some signs about needing models. Maybe we could do that." I shook my head.

"Hinata, this may be the only job we can get." I told her. Hinata shook her head. "We're on the streets, Hinata! We can't possibly do anything else!"

"We can go wash dishes…"

"And ruin our hands forever…" I commented. "And let's not forget that the only restaurants around _here_ are all places we've stolen from."

"What about… selling items?"

"What goods can well sell? We have nothing!"

"There's always something, Sakura. Maybe we can ask a local store if we could work as cashiers, or…"

"Were you not paying attention when we vandalized most of those places in order to get the money?" I sighed. "Look, Hinata. I don't care what you feel about this job that Tsunade's offering us. This is the only job we might get in a lifetime!"

"It's our golden age! There are so many things ahead of us! Can't we just go to Mr. Gold and ask him for a job?" Something snapped in my mind.

"Look, Hinata! I'm tired of hearing this from you. The one time we can find an honest—and _fun_— way to earn money, you start complaining. Would you rather we steal again? Would you rather we vandalize and turn into criminals?" Hinata bit her lip, leaning back a bit with fear. "And stop talking about 'Mr. Gold' or whatever his name is! He's not going to help us! Not you, not me, not anybody but himself!"

"That's not true…" Hinata whimpered. I scoffed.

"Believe what you want, but it is true. If he really was the saint you make him out to be, then he would have found us by now and adopted us." I snapped. Hinata's eyes began to water as they travelled to the ground.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled. Hinata's shoulders slumped, her arms wrapping around herself.

I sighed. "No. Hinata, don't… don't apologize. Please." My heart twisted with agony. What was I doing, yelling at Hinata like that? She hadn't done anything to me. "I'm the one who's sorry." _She's only talking about the guy because she's either in love with him or she looks up to the guy. _I put my hand on her shoulder. "Come on. Don't start crying now." My voice was shaking, too. A lump began to grow in my own throat as Hinata sniffed. _I shouldn't be getting mad like this. I need to control my temper. _"I'm sorry. I didn't meant to snap at you." Hinata shook her head.

"No, no. Don't be sorry. I just didn't want you mad, that's all." Hinata looked up at me and smiled, tears in her eyes. "It's okay, Sakura. I'm not crying. See?" I took a deep breath, trying to hold back my own tears. But, the longer I prevented the sweet solace of crying, the more pain I felt in my heart. Hinata, as if sensing the ache I felt, wrapped her arms around me and began to hum a lullaby. Still, I felt no comfort.

Once I was sure that Hinata had fallen asleep, I looked under our 'table' for a jar that I used to keep our money. Inside was the money we had left from yesterday. When I counted the money, I found that Hinata and I had only about fifty rupees left. _What happened to the money? Where did it all go? I made sure that we only spent five or ten per day! _

"…Sakura… are you looking at the money again?" Hinata asked drowsily. _Someone must have stolen it. _"Sakura? Go to sleep…."

"I will." I whispered, closing the lid tightly and feeling tears fall down my cheeks. "I will, soon." I listened until Hinata's breathing slowed. Slowly, I crept past her sleeping form, making sure not to wake her as I crawled out of our box. Once outside in the alleyway, I ignored the rats and insects running past my bare feet and headed to the street.

Above me, the moon shone brightly, a full sphere in the black sky. There were no stars, as the city lights had created a blanket to cover them up. A breeze whipped at me as I walked past men and the prostitutes clutching onto their arms, whispering sweet nothings in their ear. _Wait until they hear the price of that whore, and maybe they'll change their minds. _The sounds of moans, groans, profanities, and the occasional TV came to my ears as I walked on, trying to ignore the glances and stares of many. This was the first time I had walked around alone at night, as Hinata and I made a resolve not to wander the streets during this time. Night was the time of day in which prostitution was at its prime and the time in which most crimes occurred. In the shade of night, people could lie, steal, and murder, and not a soul would do anything about it. I nearly screamed when a tall, large man decided to slap my backside, his face distorted with a drunken grin. "Hey! Where're you goin', little girl?" I kept on walking, feeling my heart race. When I was a distance away, I was overjoyed to find that the man wasn't following me, as it seemed that he was too inebriated to even walk. The man had collapsed to the ground and was sleeping fitfully. I laughed, wishing that he'd go to hell.

The moment I turned back around, I ran face-chest into someone. Obviously, it was a man. I backed away, apologizing quickly. The only reply I received was a grunt of acknowledgement. I looked up to see that it was a black haired man with a bottle of whiskey in one hand while his other hand held onto the shoulders of a gorgeous, brown haired beauty. The man's black eyes travelled down to meet mine for a moment, then stared into nothingness. "Come, Hana. Let's find a room." He moved aside and continued to walk.

I watched as the 'couple' walked by me, particularly the woman, whose tired eyes were bright green. There was something strangely familiar about her—as if I've seen her before. When they were both a few meters away, she turned her head to look at me as well. I could swear I saw a tear roll down her cheek. Keeping our gaze, I moved my feet forward, though I ended up running into someone again. This time, a young man, seventeen or sixteen, shouldered me, a blank look on his handsome face. "Hey!" I yelped. The boy didn't even say sorry. He just kept on walking, hands in his pockets. He had long, black hair pulled back in a ponytail and slightly tanned skin. I couldn't see his eyes, as his back was facing me. Ignoring the boy, I tried to look over his head to see if I could catch a glimpse of the woman again. Perhaps, if I saw her again, I could remember who she was.

Moments later, I gave up and continued on with my journey.

Above me, the sky began to lighten and the moon began to set. _How long have I been walking? I must've walked around the whole town! _Cursing, I realized that Hinata, being an early-bird, would have woken up by now. A nearby clock told me that it was five A.M. Sighing, I turned around. _I'll have better luck next time. _I began to head home.

I took note of how the crowd had changed around me as the sun began to rise. No longer were there multitudes of whores walking around, but there were shopkeepers and children walking down the streets, stretching and yawning, well-rested from the night before for today. I passed by a vile-looking bookstore, where a man with a white turban was shifting through his keys as he tried to open the door. Next to the bookstore was some sort of stand with paintings and sculptures of various creatures, all made of clay. A middle-aged man with crimson hair stood next to it, reading a book. Behind the stand was a tall boy, sixteen, whose blonde hair covered one side of his face. A lazy blue eye looked up at me as I stopped by the cart to look at the statues. "Don't even think about stealing that, yeah." He said.

"I wasn't going to and I wasn't even thinking of stealing." I said, rolling my eyes. "You know, that's not a nice way to greet your customers."

"You're kidding, yeah? You don't look like a customer. More like a street rat, yeah."

"Deidara! That's enough from you." The crimson haired man glared at him. "Excuse my apprentice. He doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. Did you need any help?"

I glanced at the blonde haired boy, who looked back at me expectantly. "No. I was just leaving." The boy shrugged.

"Like I said, your art sucks dick, yeah." The crimson haired man closed his book and hit the boy in the head as I moved on. "Ow!"

"Learn to keep your mouth shut, or else I can tell Pein everything and he'll kill you."

I was tempted to linger nearby and listen, but what would be the point? Entertainment? I've seen better game shows than an argument. _Hinata could be getting worried by now… and I can't be having her looking around for me. Knowing her sense of direction, she's going to get lost._

Once I neared my 'home', I found the blonde woman I was searching for, loitering in a nearby alleyway, her brown eyes sharper than they were yesterday. _Looks like she's sober. _She took a big drink from a bottle of beer and then threw it on the ground. _But, then, I could be wrong. _"Oh. Hey. It's you." Tsunade grinned. I froze in place, my mind racing. Hinata's foreboding seemed to be getting to me, too. "Did you think about my offer?"

"My sister said no." I cleared my throat. Tsunade's face fell.

"I see."

"But… I want to know how much this job offers." Tsunade raised her brow. "And the benefits."

"Well, I can tell you that there's big money in this job… for you, anyway." She said. I could tell that Tsunade was not lying, but still, I couldn't help but feel uneasy. "Benefits? Let's see… well, I can give you a free room, for one. And free food. I see you're a street-kid, so I'll throw in clothes, too." My mind spun. The woman was giving me a good offer—a deal. Uneasily, I took a deep breath. "So, what do you think? You want this job?" _Maybe this time, Hinata and I can sleep on a bed for once. _My back ached at the thought of sleeping on the dreadful, maggot infested alleyway ground again. I gulped.

"Can my sister stay with me in the room?" Tsunade laughed.

"As long as she doesn't burn the place down, then yes."

"I'll take it." Tsunade smiled, though in a strangely mischievous way.

"Good. We need talent like you." Tsunade said. "Off the bat, I'll pay you fifty rupees. Why don't you pack up and get that other girl? I'll show you to your new home right now." Like an obedient slave, I led her to our alleyway, where Hinata paced. When she saw me, her face lit up. But one look at Tsunade, and her eyes grew wide with surprise. She looked at me disbelievingly.

"Sakura… you didn't!"

"Hey. Pack up whatever you own and follow me. Your friend here just so nicely got you a new home to live in instead of… this place." Tsunade sniffed. I wanted to apologize about the stench, but that couldn't be helped. Hinata looked as if she was about to cry.

As we followed her, Hinata lagged behind us. I would constantly have to turn around and tell her to hurry up, which she would, but then she would just slow down again. So, I decided to lag behind with Hinata. "What's wrong with you? You should be happy. We're getting our own room, Hinata. That's damn better than a wooden box… shack… thing."

"I know. I am, Sakura, really. I just… I thought you listened to me last night. I thought you weren't going to take the job."

"I never said I wouldn't."

"Well, I thought that you weren't going to."

"There's no reason to be upset, Hinata. This is life, and when life gives you beef, you make beef stew." Hinata smiled a bit, though it faded away in seconds when we saw where Tsunade led us to.

"Welcome, girls, to your new home." The place certainly was not what I had expected. The building was flat and, though wide and large in size, was falling apart. There was an open hallway with many doors and at the end of the hallway, two large double doors. Tsunade showed us our room, which was nearest to the double doors. The smell of cooking food came from inside, making my mouth water. "Here's your room." Tsunade said, opening the door for us. "I'll come and get you," Tsunade pointed at me. "When I need you, got it?" I nodded slowly.

Hinata went into the room first after Tsunade left us, looking around. The room was large—well, to me, anyway. I had no idea what room actually looked like. When we lived with Mr. Gold, we stayed in the living room and slept on sleeping bags, waiting for him to fulfill his promise of our own separate rooms. A mattress lay on the ground in one corner, while a thick bed lie opposite to it. There was a large dresser next to the door, as well as a small, wooden table with a vase filled with dead flowers on top of it. There was another door besides the entrance, left slightly open to reveal a small shower and a toilet. "You can have the bed, Hinata." I said, sitting down on the mattress on the ground and stuffing the glass jar with our last fifty rupees underneath it. The mattress had a strange, unpleasant stench when I lay down, though my back already melted at the feel of the soft bed. "Wake me up if Tsunade comes in here, okay?"

"Okay…" Hinata mumbled. "Uh… Sakura…?" I grunted.

"Hm?"

"…never mind." Hinata sighed. "I hope I didn't sound like an ungrateful brat."

"Don't worry about it." I closed my eyes. "Really."

"Sakura…?"

"Yes, Hinata?"

"I'll get a job, too. A better one."

I turned to my side, trying to slow my breathing. But no matter how much I tried, I couldn't sleep. _She's not going to get a job, _I thought to myself. _She's _Hinata_. She can't do anything by herself. _

Hours later, there was a knock on our door. "Sakura, it's Tsunade—

"I know." I got up as the blonde woman poked her head into our room.

"It's time for practice." I nodded slowly. "You didn't even take a shower." Tsunade sniffed as I stood before, looking at me up and down. "Oh, well. We'll clean you up before your first performance, then." Tsunade grabbed my arm. "And you, don't go anywhere, got it?"

"Yes." Hinata answered meekly.

"Come on. We've got a lot to do." Tsunade said. "And little time to do it. I'm making you the star tonight, so you better do whatever I tell you, okay? That's the best way to keep you out of trouble." I looked over my shoulder to see Hinata closing the door to our room. Her eyes were wide with fright, as if she had just seen a ghost.

I smiled, mouthing words to her. "It'll be okay."

But I knew deep down that I was wrong. After all, how could everything be okay when you know you've just sold your soul to the devil?


End file.
